Doubleclick Ad Exchange Now Allows Sticky Ads for Improved Ad Viewability

This post was most recently updated on August 22nd, 2019

As part of MonetizeMore’s screening process in order for partner sites to be Google-compliant, we often advise publishers not to place Google (Adsense) ads on sticky ad areas. These are ad spots on your pages where the ad “sticks” in its place regardless of scrolling. This is against Adsense Policy because it tends to draw unnatural attention to ads.

Related Read: How to Know if your Ads Generate Accidental Clicks?

However, our Google ad rep has shared the insider news that sticky ad units are now out of beta! This followed after results of their study showing that:

Sticky ad units contribute uplift in performance metrics such as CTR and CPM of up to 20% without hurting quality! Sticky ads, in fact, improve ad viewability.

The only conditions are:

• Publishers can run sticky ads ONLY via Ad Exchange, and;
• They should declare it via the “Rules” section.

According to Google: “Rules only enable you to declare that ad units are “sticky;” applying a rule doesn’t make the ad units themselves sticky. Conversely, if you don’t declare an ad unit as “sticky,” this doesn’t mean that the ad unit isn’t sticky, only that it’s undeclared.”

Related Read: Setting Rules in the New Google Ad Exchange

Here’s the complete implementation guide

Source: https://support.google.com/adxseller/answer/6273531

1. Click the Rules tab.
2. In the left sidebar, select your product, such as Display or Video.
3. Under your product, click Publisher declarations.
4. Click + New rule. The “New rule” page opens.
5. Enter a name for your declaration.
6. Configure the targeting of your inventory.
7. Check the box under Sticky ads to indicate that the selected inventory serves sticky ads.
8. Click Save.

What’s in it for publishers?

Since most publishers love to use “sticky ad units” when implementing Adsense – but are prohibited to do so, this development from Doubleclick now encourages publishers to sign-up to Ad Exchange in order to experience the full performance benefits of sticky ads. No more loss of revenue there!

If you want to try Ad Exchange, you can become our partner by signing up (FREE) here. For larger sites, we invite you to become our premium publisher.

Related Reads:

• Google’s EU User-Consent Policy: Step-by-Step Guide
• Google Policy Compliance for Mobile Sites
• What is the Adsense Policy on Auto-Refreshing Ads?
• How to Know if your Ads Generate Accidental Clicks?

Kean Graham

Kean Graham is the CEO and founder of MonetizeMore & a pioneer in the Adtech Industry. He is the resident expert in Ad Optimization, covering areas like Adsense Optimization,GAM Management, and third-party ad network partnerships. Kean believes in the supremacy of direct publisher deals and holistic optimization as keys to effective and consistent ad revenue increases.